With renewed faith in our boat, I want to see some pics of other's rides! Here are the rules -
1: Less than 25K invested - including upgrades
2: Post pics, make, model, how long you've had her, and how long you plan on keeping her.

2004 tige 21i. I bought it a year ago for 18.5k. Interior trashed, speakers rotted, oxidation everywhere. I pealed all the graphics, redid the interior, 4 rev 10s on tower, 2 JL 13w7s, 6 xs 650s, 3 syn 4s, and 2 JL 1000/1s. LED amp rack, speaker rings, and cup holder. Installed PP, new CMD6 HU, and 2 remotes. There's a whole list of other stuff, but you get the idea. I'm into it for a little over 25k, so please forgive me. hopefully everyone likes pics
Before pic
Afters

2003 sanger v210, bought last year for 21k added perfect pass stargazer,2xrev10s,jlw6v3,4x fosgate punch 6.5 , amps to light it up and a battery bank at around $25500 and am done. I think lol. Might upgrade when my girl turns out to a journeyman(union electrician) but right now she's my pride and joy!

New (to us) 1999 Malibu Sunsetter VLX. It already had the tower when we picked it up for 19k.

Extra costs:
perfect pass wake edition $1100 + $250 for install
2 board racks from monster $175 each
two new tires $99 each
750# fly high sac I think it was $189 or something like that (it came with the pump)
new safety chains (I know it's not a high dollar item, but still... we spent money) $50
and the biggest (and cheapest) wakesurfer we could find - Ronix Huntington. It's huge, and a soft top, but it's actually pretty fun and is perfect for the noobs. $150

(check out the mullet! Not sure why my hair did that, maybe it was because I watched Joe Dirt recently)

2001 Malibu Sunsetter VLX. Paid $20,000 in June 2011, 330 hours. 375HP LS1, Skylon Swoop tower, had manual wedge at the time, heater, docking lights and a few other options. I'm sure I'm over 5k in upgrades now; here is the mod list:

I'm sure there is something else I'm forgetting - I'll edit the post and add to it if I remember. Obviously doesn't include extra goodies for the boat, like a Slide Anchor, Exile bumpers I just ordered, etc. Here are a few pics

There are some beautiful boats in this thread! I am so close to the $25k limit and wanted to share. We bought an '06 Supra 21V four years ago for $26k. It had everything I needed and we still haven't done much to her except re prop.

Picked up my 06 supra 20v for $16,500 over the winter. Still doing some things to it to get it to my liking, but overall I'm in under 20k with stereo, trailer work, taxes, insurance, etc. Stole this boat though...

1997 Ski Brendella, 200 hours, everything about this boat is original and pristine. Came with a fly high pole, bimini, vests, boards. All for $8,200 cash! Love the boat, even throws a decent wake with 2 or 3 people on the rear bench.

My 02 Moomba LSV - 888hrs - Perfect Pass - 3 Johnson's - Kicker 6500.2 Six Pack - 10" L7 - Lots of other stuff I added. I picked it up in 2010 with 600hrs for $15,500 I think that I have about $20k in it now.

Great looking rides - I feel like these older ones have more character than the new ones - Keep them coming guys! Thanks for the info on the PTM, been dragging my feet on one, but it sounds like it could be the best thing since PP, so it's back on the list! and Jeremiah - good looking ride - I'm envious of the guy/gal ratio in the last pic!

And yes. We need to start the budget boat wake pics thread. I just need to get some......

2001 Malibu Sunsetter VLX. Paid $20,000 in June 2011, 330 hours. 375HP LS1, Skylon Swoop tower, had manual wedge at the time, heater, docking lights and a few other options. I'm sure I'm over 5k in upgrades now; here is the mod list:

I'm sure there is something else I'm forgetting - I'll edit the post and add to it if I remember. Obviously doesn't include extra goodies for the boat, like a Slide Anchor, Exile bumpers I just ordered, etc. Here are a few pics

Where did you get the iPhone holder to the right of the steering wheel?

Great looking rides - I feel like these older ones have more character than the new ones - Keep them coming guys! Thanks for the info on the PTM, been dragging my feet on one, but it sounds like it could be the best thing since PP, so it's back on the list! and Jeremiah - good looking ride - I'm envious of the guy/gal ratio in the last pic!

And yes. We need to start the budget boat wake pics thread. I just need to get some......

Thanks! I'll get wake pics tomorrow night when we ride. I'm way less than 10K in that ride, but audio isn't great yet. Sand bags and people for ballast haha

paid cash in march 2011, $9500 with 400 hours, $400 for trailer, $600 for 1234 acme prop, about $500 for stereo through CL and ebay. and another 3-400 for fat sacs but still waiting to plumb automatically and perfect pass this summer hopefully. $350 for redoing the sundeck and need to do some of the other seat bottoms, This boat has given my friends and I 2 awesome summers so far!!

Custom Graphics & lettering (since the boat was black and white, and I'm a bit of a geek, I went with a Stormtrooper theme = $125)

Misc trailer enhancements ($25)

two more Fly High ballast bags, plus misc hoses & fittings ($350)

Of course there's more money being spent (new boards, wetsuit for my son, tube, ropes, fenders, detailing supplies, updating my RV parking at my house to accomodate the boat, etc. But that's all to be expected or not really related to how much I have into the "boat".

So, more or less about another grand into the boat on fixes, enhancements (stereo/lighting/ballast/graphics). I think I'm doing damn good all things considered.

Honestly for something in the $10k range, I'm pretty damn happy. I mean, sure I'd love a V-drive, but not for the $5k, $10k, or $15k premium I'd need to pay over where I'm at. I feel like for a direct drive, I've got a damn good boat... And by putting a little savings and tax return as a down payment, I have a $135/month boat payment for 5 years. I can live with that.

Thanks!!! I'd been dreaming of owning a tournament boat for 20 years. I had to search a LONG time before I found something that was nice enough to keep me happy for a while (at least the 5 years until it's paid off) and affordable enough to be realistic for me. The previous owner was a definite enthusiast and was going to keep it, but stepped up to a Malibu V-Drive and I picked the Supra up after he'd been sitting on it all winter...

Here's my deal of a lifetime:
2006 Sanger V215 bought brand new in 2009 for $25,500. Came with everything except the tower speakers. I'll never sell it because it could never be worth it to me to pay for new boat prices.

Here's my deal of a lifetime:
2006 Sanger V215 bought brand new in 2009 for $25,500. Came with everything except the tower speakers. I'll never sell it because it could never be worth it to me to pay for new boat prices.

Custom Graphics & lettering (since the boat was black and white, and I'm a bit of a geek, I went with a Stormtrooper theme = $125)

Misc trailer enhancements ($25)

two more Fly High ballast bags, plus misc hoses & fittings ($350)

Of course there's more money being spent (new boards, wetsuit for my son, tube, ropes, fenders, detailing supplies, updating my RV parking at my house to accomodate the boat, etc. But that's all to be expected or not really related to how much I have into the "boat".

So, more or less about another grand into the boat on fixes, enhancements (stereo/lighting/ballast/graphics). I think I'm doing damn good all things considered.

Honestly for something in the $10k range, I'm pretty damn happy. I mean, sure I'd love a V-drive, but not for the $5k, $10k, or $15k premium I'd need to pay over where I'm at. I feel like for a direct drive, I've got a damn good boat... And by putting a little savings and tax return as a down payment, I have a $135/month boat payment for 5 years. I can live with that.

That's a nice looking older Supra, I like the personality you gave it.

I may have exaggerated by 30 years, but I bought my boat last year and I was 20. Put 10k down on it, and thought I was doing good. Most people on here think people shouldn't buy a boat unless they can pay cash.

Bryce buying at 20 your are ahead of the curve and doing well for yourself. Plus you obviously have a knack for fixing them up. You have done some great stuff of your rig!!

You are right, about 50%(or better) think you should only pay cash for a boat. Funny thing is 80% of us probably have financed boats!! I should have been more clear with my statement. Instead of paid off I should have said cost effective payments. Because if you bought a 25K boat and financed it all for short term your payment is huge. Then coupled with the higher maintenance costs of an older boat your cost of ownership is just as much as a new rig. No longer cost effective, thats what i was getting at.

There have been some great boats shown. Makes me jealous. Some days I am wishing I had my paid off 97 Pro Am back. We haven't even had our new boat in the water this spring due to weather and schedule, but I've sure made 7 payments on it since I bought it in November!!

Thanks Rob and Jeremiah. I definitley wasn't expecting to get so much love on the boat when I posted it up.

Even looking at more expensive boats, I haven't found many direct drive's what would make me happier. And most importantly, I can definitely sleep at night with what I paid for it. This is definitely a good thing, because I had to drop it off at the boat shop yesterday. The tranny slipped a handful of times and I realized that the fluid was low, so I topped it off. There's fluid in the bilge and it slipped again the other day. I'm really hoping that it's just an issue of replacing seals and stuff and that I didn't smoke the plates and need a rebuild. UGH! It's always something, right?!?

Trayson don't say that! My supreme is barely 3mons old to me. And yeah I think your supra is sick

Well, I am trying to stay positive. I took out the dipstick before I brought mine in and I didn't smell anything overtly "burnt" so I'm hoping that it won't be that bad. I'm heading to NYC for next week, so I figured I might as well get them working on it while I have a 12 day window where I wouldn't be using it anyway. luckily there's a lot of info on the web and others that have been able to help me out on little things here and there.

And thanks again. I'm sure you'll be happy with yours too. There simply aren't that many tournament boat options from your era that had open bows. That for me was an absoulte non-negotiable MUST. And with the tower on it, you're set to have a blast. Throw in some stereo upgrades and some bags and you'll be having as much fun as anyone on the water.

And thanks again. I'm sure you'll be happy with yours too. There simply aren't that many tournament boat options from your era that had open bows. That for me was an absoulte non-negotiable MUST. And with the tower on it, you're set to have a blast. Throw in some stereo upgrades and some bags and you'll be having as much fun as anyone on the water.

YOu have more freeboard than I do, but I like that my open bow isn't a play pen design. I actually can fit 4 people in a pinch. though I'll prolly stuff the nose every single time I stop haha with that much weight in the front. Even 4 girls is 500lbs

I rebuilt a couple of those in the day, if you need any help let me know. Looks like your local.

Yeah, I live in Vancouver, just up in Salmon Creek where I-5 and I-205 come together. I'm 5 minutes from Pacific Boatland in Vancouver, so that's where the boat is right now. I guess I'll see what they come up with and then figure out options. But I appreciate the offer and am happy to have people that are willing to help with advice and whatnot.

YOu have more freeboard than I do, but I like that my open bow isn't a play pen design. I actually can fit 4 people in a pinch. though I'll prolly stuff the nose every single time I stop haha with that much weight in the front. Even 4 girls is 500lbs

Ahh yes. I LOVE my freeboard. it's been nice. The other day I had probably 1200+ pounds of ballast to surf with and my wife was driving. She's a newbie driver for sure and she was totally fine even with less than optimal wake crossing methodology.

And I dig the playpen. The extra storage is nice (so far I just have USCG jackets in one and I keep 2 of my fat sacks in the other with room to spare. And the playpen tends to be a perfect "loveseat" for couples that join us on the boat. So far the biggest crew we've ever had out on the boat has been 6. Lately (probably because it's still early in the summer and the water temp is between 58 and 62) we have to work to get 3 or 4 of us out on the boat!

I used to do a lot of boating in an MB Sport Boss 200 closed bow. Talk about a boat that would take water over the bow. Ugh! Definitely had to be on my game as a driver in that. I'm glad I don't have to be as careful with mine. Plus, more freeboard = more ballast I can take! Woot!

I'll join in, this is really cool to see what people are doing with older boats.
1996 MB Sports Boss 210
Purchased in December of 2012
$10,000

Added tower, racks, stereo, ballast, and a wrap.
Total investment right now is about $13,000
We have added tower speakers since the bottom picture and hoping to get perfect pass on it at some point as well. No Immediate plans to sell it but everything I own is for sale aside from my wife.

I'll join in, this is really cool to see what people are doing with older boats.
1996 MB Sports Boss 210
Purchased in December of 2012
$10,000

Added tower, racks, stereo, ballast, and a wrap.
Total investment right now is about $13,000
We have added tower speakers since the bottom picture and hoping to get perfect pass on it at some point as well. No Immediate plans to sell it but everything I own is for sale aside from my wife.

great update!!! did you really only spend $3k on tower, racks, stereo, ballast, and a wrap??

This isn't my current boat, but I thought it would go well in this thread. 10 years ago this was my cost effective ride and threw a heck of a wake loaded. I had right at $10k in it with tower, audio and new interior. The picture is horrible because I scanned it off a wind-up disposable camera photo. It actually had silver metal flake all in it because it was the 25th anniversary Nautique.

97 maristar 200, my wife's family bought it new, we bought it from mom last july for 16k. Came with trailer and tower, I've added a new head unit, amp, tower speakers, and non permanent ballast of 2k lbs which is all the prop can handle. As with Ryan it's just not economical to part ways with a killer deal. Has the vette engine too. We got it with 302 hrs.

Agreed. I mean if he pulled that off, I'd like to know how--especially since it looks like he has swivel racks and those wouldn't be the cheapest.

I mean a wrap by itself can easily cost $3k or more.

Here is my break down:
Vapor Tower thru Big Air Pylons-$699 winter special
Racks from Monster Towers-$320 blim special
Stereo & speakers-$400 (i had an old car amp laying around that i used for the sub that i also had)
750# fat sak and pump was $300 on ebay
the wrap was the rest, keep in mind the owner of HyghOctane Graphics (this is who did the wrap) is one of my best friends and he took care of me on the wrap but this is a totally truthful and i'm under $13,000 even after buying a seal kit for my transmission and replacing all the belts and an oil change. Things can be done on a budget you just have to keep your eyes open and look for good deals. I have done all the work myself and if you take your time you can do most things on a boat. We installed the tower ourselves and also refinished the platform, the wheels were plasti dipped and hoping to get the windows tinted soon as well.

Here is my break down:
Vapor Tower thru Big Air Pylons-$699 winter special
Racks from Monster Towers-$320 blim special
Stereo & speakers-$400 (i had an old car amp laying around that i used for the sub that i also had)
750# fat sak and pump was $300 on ebay
the wrap was the rest, keep in mind the owner of HyghOctane Graphics (this is who did the wrap) is one of my best friends and he took care of me on the wrap but this is a totally truthful and i'm under $13,000 even after buying a seal kit for my transmission and replacing all the belts and an oil change. Things can be done on a budget you just have to keep your eyes open and look for good deals. I have done all the work myself and if you take your time you can do most things on a boat. We installed the tower ourselves and also refinished the platform, the wheels were plasti dipped and hoping to get the windows tinted soon as well.

Well, $1k for the tower + racks is a smokin deal. And getting the wrap for probably 1/3 or less of what it would normally cost helps a ton. The stereo stuff and fat sacks seems about right. Nice work.